


Christmas in a Bottle

by PoH



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Kairi-centric (Kingdom Hearts), Kingdom Hearts III Spoilers, POV Kairi (Kingdom Hearts), Post-Kingdom Hearts III, Zine: Hearts for the Holidays
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 08:53:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21966706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PoH/pseuds/PoH
Summary: Kairi never stopped believing in Santa Claus, despite Riku and Sora telling her that he wasn't real.But now, after the Keyblade War, she has a Christmas wish that even Santa can't fulfill.  And so, in order to reach out to their lost friend, Kairi and the rest of the Guardians of Light have to try something else.
Relationships: Kairi & Naminé (Kingdom Hearts), Kairi & Riku & Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 17





	Christmas in a Bottle

_Dear Santa,_

_I’m sorry because my best friends are being stupid this year. But could you please not put them on the Naughty List and give them the presents that they want? Riku wants some books on how to build a raft and Sora wants a new toy sword._

_This year, I would like my own kit for making bracelets and charms. I’d also like a diary so I can write stuff down where nobody will see it, and lots and lots of candy! And my friends would like candy too._

_Also, I made my grandma another Christmas card this year and I’m putting it in my bottle. If you visit my old home, could you please give it to her and tell her that I miss her and Merry Christmas?_

_Thank you._

_Love,_

_Kairi_

Kairi carefully rolled up her letter to Santa and her grandmother’s Christmas card to place in the bottle that her adopted parents had given her. When she stepped outside of her house, she heard Sora and Riku calling to her from down the street. “Hmph!” Kairi turned her back on them and marched down to the beach, her head held high and the bottle gripped firmly in her hand.

“Kairi, where are you going?”

“Kairi, come back!”

She heard their footsteps behind her and walked faster. When they saw the bottle, they would say the same dumb things that they’d been saying for the past two weeks, and Kairi had heard enough.

“What’s that you’ve got in your hands?” Sora yelled.

“Oh, that better not be what I think it is,” Riku snorted.

Kairi spun around on her heels and held the bottle up. “That’s right. It’s my letter to Santa. I’m sending it to him and you can’t stop me!”

“Kairi, you’re wasting paper. And a bottle,” said Riku, “Santa’s not real.”

“Yes, he is! You guys are just being stupid!”

“C’mon, Kairi,” said Sora, “If Riku says he’s not real, then he’s not real.”

“Riku doesn’t know _everything_ ,” replied Kairi, rolling her eyes, “You shouldn’t stop believing in Santa just ‘cause Riku told you!”

Riku took a step back, and for a split second, he looked hurt. But then he folded his arms over his chest and rolled his eyes right back. “I know way more than _you_ do.”

“No, you don’t!”

“Yes, I do.”

“I don’t care! I’m sending my letter to Santa! Good-BYE!” And with that, Kairi stomped off to the beach. She could hear the boys following her and ignored them. Stupid boys. She wouldn’t blame Santa if he read her letter and _still_ didn’t get Sora or Riku anything for Christmas. _That_ would teach them a lesson.

“C’mon, it doesn’t even make sense!” Riku shouted behind her. “It’s not like the ocean’s _alive_ or anything. How’s it supposed to know that it has to take everyone’s bottles to Christmas Town? And how are the bottle supposed to get there in time? And how is Santa supposed to get all of the presents and deliver them in one night? It makes way more sense if our parents do it!”

Kairi reached the shoreline. She stuck her tongue out at Riku and Sora and flung the bottle into the water with all her might. The three of them watched it drift off towards the horizon. All along the beach, other families had brought their own young children with messages for Santa. They also sent their bottles into the water, which would carry their letters to Christmas Town.

“It’s just gonna end up on some beach somewhere,” said Riku.

Kairi shoved him and marched away. As she climbed up the path towards home, she heard Sora calling to her: “I hope you still get what you want for Christmas, Kairi!”

* * *

It took eight years for Kairi to get her vengeance.

She leaned back against a comfortable armchair positioned in front of the fireplace. Riku squirmed next to her. They sat in a cozy parlor within Santa’s workshop, and the man himself sipped a mug of hot cocoa in the armchair across from them. “Well, I must thank you for taking care of those Heartless for me. It’s bad enough any time that they come, but so close to Christmas, when I already have so much work to do…”

Kairi smiled and replied in a sweet voice, “It was our pleasure, sir. We _both_ know that it must take a lot of work to deliver all those presents in one night. How do you do it?”

Santa chuckled. “Oh, just a little Christmas magic.”

“Christmas magic! Why didn’t we think of that, Riku?”

“Okay, shut up,” he muttered under his breath.

“It’s an honor to meet you, sir! Isn’t it, Riku?”

“Shut. Up.”

“I mean, most kids our age don’t think you’re real! Right, Riku?” Kairi nudged him a few times in the side.

“That’s right. You never stopped believing in me, did you, Kairi? Very impressive,” said Santa.

“ _Thank_ you, sir!” Kairi beamed at him and her best friend. “You might want to watch your hot cocoa, Riku. It’s getting cold.” She pretended not to notice the dirty looks that he kept giving her. “Isn’t it so nice, being here in Christmas Town? With Santa? Isn’t it great to know that it’s all real? Isn’t it great to know that Santa’s real?”

“Now, now, Kairi,” Santa chided her gently. “Bragging is not the sort of thing that helps you keep your place on my Nice list. Even if it does feel earned.”

“Ha!” said Riku.

“Yes, Riku, I know what you told your friends when you were younger. You may rest assured that you and Sora are no longer on the Naughty list. Now then, would you like to see the rest of my workshop, or perhaps check to make sure there are no more Heartless in the plaza? I would like to have a word with Kairi.”

Riku smirked and nudged her. “Someone’s in trouble.” Kairi stuck her tongue out at him as he left to check on the plaza. Once she found herself alone with Santa, she felt a growing sense of dread. He probably didn’t care all that much about her teasing Riku. If he wanted to speak to her in private, then she could guess why. 

“I received your Christmas letter the other day, Kairi,” said Santa gently. “You have been good this year, as you always have, and you deserve to have your wish fulfilled.”

“But you can’t do it.” Kairi swallowed. She’d thought it would hurt less if she said it out loud, but it didn’t.

“No. I have magic of my own, but I do not have the power to bring Sora back to our realm. I am truly sorry.”

Kairi nodded. “It’s okay,” she said quickly, and took a long sip of her hot chocolate. She couldn’t cry in front of Santa. It had been a stupid request. She’d known all along that he couldn’t bring Sora back. She didn’t know why she’d even tried. Yen Sid didn’t have the power to bring him back. Merlin and the Three Good Fairies couldn’t. Not even the Genie or the Fairy Godmother. She would _not_ cry in front of Santa. “Thank you, sir. I hope you have a merry Christmas.”

“I wish the same for you, Kairi,” said Santa.

* * *

Kairi held it together on the Gummi Ship ride back to Destiny Islands. She thanked the King for the ride and told Riku that she needed to get home to help her parents with some chores. It wasn’t the best lie that she’d ever told, but she couldn’t come up with anything better. Instead of going home, she took one of the lesser-used paths to an isolated corner of the beach. There she could cry as hard as she wanted without anyone seeing or hearing her. Nobody would feel like they had to comfort her, say the same things all over again, and maybe, secretly wonder when she was going to move on with her life so she wouldn’t continue to bother them with her tears.

Or so she thought. When she heard someone approaching, she got up to leave, but Riku had already seen her. He'd brought Naminé with him too and they came to sit on either side of her. Naminé took Kairi’s hand. Riku wrapped his arms around her. “I know,” he said softly, “It’s tough getting on Santa’s naughty list, but you kind of deserved it. Gloating is _bad_.” Kairi snorted and found herself laughing and crying at the same time.

“It’s okay. I’d rather be right.”

“So, you asked Santa to bring Sora back, and he couldn’t do it?”

“How did you know?!” asked Kairi.

Riku shrugged. “I just put two and two together.”

“Oh.” Kairi gazed out at the horizon, just as she’d done for a whole year while she waited for Sora and Riku to come home. Would she have to spend the rest of her life waiting and worrying over people she cared about? “I don’t know what to do,” she admitted to her friends. “I don’t know where to go or who to ask for help. And I can’t stand the thought of spending another Christmas without him.”

“I know,” said Riku.

“I feel the same way,” added Naminé, “Even though I was never truly Sora’s friend.”

“Uh, Naminé? Have you met Sora? Regardless of what happened in Castle Oblivion, he thought of you as a friend,” said Riku. Kairi nodded in agreement.

Naminé blushed, as she always did when she received a compliment. “Kairi, I don’t know how to help, but I know this much. You restored Sora to his true form when he became a Heartless. You stopped everyone from fading away in the Keyblade Graveyard. You’re the one who brought Sora back to the light. Maybe Santa can’t bring Sora back. But I know that you can, even if you don’t know how to do it just yet.” 

“Yeah, and it was your letter that helped Sora and I to find our way back home once before,” added Riku.

 _The letter…?_ Kairi sat up, startling Riku and Naminé. She left them behind and approached the shoreline, where she could just make out some families on the other side of the beach, placing their bottles in the water to send to Santa, just as she used to do. Just like she’d done for Sora when he’d left to find Riku.

“Kairi? Are you okay?” her friends called to her.

She went back over to them. “Can you guys do me a favor? I need to see all of our friends. Ask them if they’ll meet us here on Destiny Islands?”

“Why?” they asked.

“You’ll see.”

* * *

After the initial meeting, where Kairi explained her plan to her friends, everyone returned to the Islands a week later with the bottles that she’d given them. Each bottle contained some kind of gift or memento. Donald cast a magic spell on the ones that had become too heavy to float properly in the water.

“Thanks for doing this with me, you guys,” said Kairi.

“Thanks for suggesting it!” replied Ven, “It’s a cool idea, Kairi!”

Even now, with all of them here, it still took her by surprise how much her friends wanted to participate and that none of them thought she was being silly. She’d been so certain that her letters would get to Santa, despite Sora and Riku telling her they wouldn’t. And now, with everyone encouraging her, Kairi wondered if the bottles would really reach their destination.

 _I reached him once before,_ she told herself, _I can do it again._ “Everybody ready?”

Her friends followed her down to the shoreline. Together, they placed their bottles into the ocean and watched the waves carry them away; all clustered together like a fleet of ships.

Riku stood by her side. “This might sound weird, but I kind of feel better,” he told her. “It didn’t feel right to not get Sora anything this year. Thanks, Kairi.”

“I hope it works,” said Kairi.

“It will. And if it doesn’t, we’ll just have to tell him that all his Christmas presents went into the ocean and he has to go find them himself.”

Kairi snorted. They watched the bottles float farther and farther away, until Lea cleared his throat and asked, “Sooooo, are we going to start the Christmas party, or are we just going to stand around here all night?”

Roxas elbowed him. “Quit killing the mood.”

“What? I have presents to give you guys! And I know you have presents for me, so…”

Kairi laughed along with the rest of them and forced herself to turn away from the horizon. They’d done what they could for Sora. It was time to let go- for now- and spend time with the rest of her friends.

* * *

On an unfamiliar beach, with the lights of an unfamiliar city behind him, Sora stepped into the tide and closed his eyes. He let the water rush around his feet and listened to the waves crashing in front of him. It felt like home.

Something brushed against his foot. He opened his eyes and looked down. A strange bottle lay in front of him. It appeared to have a message inside and…some kind of flat stick? When Sora bent down to pick it up, another bottle drifted up to him, followed by another. He straightened up and saw a whole cluster of bottles floating in the surf. “Where’d all these come from…?” 

Frowning, he opened the first one and dumped the contents into his hand: a note and a popsicle stick with “WINNER” imprinted on it.

_Hey Sora,_

_I know you’re probably wondering why I got you a popsicle stick for Christmas. It actually gets you a free ice cream in Twilight Town. So you can have one when you get back. Merry Christmas. And thanks for everything._

\- _Roxas_

But it couldn’t be from Roxas. Even though it was written in Roxas’ handwriting, and he _would_ be the type to give someone free ice cream for Christmas. Sora had tried to contact his friends through his Gummiphone and it never worked. So how could Roxas have gotten a message to him? 

Sora looked around at all of the bottles floating in the water, and a certain memory came back to him: sitting on the beach with Riku, where another letter in a bottle reached them. _Thinking of you, wherever you are…_

“Kairi,” he realized, a smile spreading across his face. “You did it. You did it again.”

And then he dashed through the water, collecting all of the bottles and opening them one by one as fast as he could. One contained a stunning drawing of a sunset and the paopu tree where he liked to sit with his friends. It looked exactly like home. “Thanks, Naminé.”

Terra, Aqua, and Ven had sent him three star-shaped keychains for his Keyblade **.** Each one came with a note explaining how they would boost his strength, magic, and speed when he felt like he had nothing left. All of them stated: “For a true Keyblade Master.” 

Another bottle had pictures of Roxas winning a Struggle tournament, Xion trying to keep a ball in the air with her Struggle bat, and Isa enjoying some ice cream on the clock tower. They all looked so happy and carefree. This bottle did not have a signed note; just one word: “Thanks.” Sora didn’t recognize the handwriting, but he could guess who sent it.

Another bottle had a red pouch with a message attached to the strings:

_Hi, Sora!_

_Olette made the pouch and we got Merlin to enchant it so that it can carry whatever you want inside it, no matter how big or heavy it is. That way, you can keep all your presents with you- plus the one that’s already inside._

_Merry Christmas!_

_Hayner, Pence, and Olette_

Inside the pouch, Sora found a conch shell with yet another note sticking out of it.

_Merry Christmas, Sora. Keep this with you so you’ll always have a way to hear the sound of the waves._

_– Xion_

“You guys…” Sora felt his throat closing over. He put the shell back into the pouch and turned his attention to the final four bottles. The first one that he picked up had a golden, glittering tree ornament inside of it with a very familiar shape. The note said:

_Hiya Sora,_

_To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to get you for Christmas. I’m awful sorry about that. So I asked Donald and Goofy for help and they thought I should get you one of these ornaments. They said it looked like some kind of “lucky emblem?” I don’t know what that means, but I hope you like it!_

_Merry Christmas,_

_Mickey_

The bottle from Donald and Goofy contained a picture of the two of them making silly faces at the camera. _Don’t forget to keep smiling!_

Riku’s bottle had a Santa hat stuffed inside of it, along with his note:

_Santa is real. Hurry up and get back here so you can share some of the guilt. Kairi’s not letting me live this down._

Between the three gifts, Sora laughed harder than he had in a long time. “Thanks, guys,” he said quietly. Finally, he picked up Kairi’s bottle. When he realized what was inside, his vision got blurry for a moment. She’d given him her good-luck charm. The shells, stitched together in the shape of a star, smiled up at him.

_Merry Christmas. See you soon._

Sora gathered the presents together and placed them inside the magic pouch, all except for Kairi’s good-luck charm, which went into his pocket, and Riku’s Santa hat, which he put on his head. “Merry Christmas, you guys,” he called out to the ocean, as he held the pouch close to his heart. “See you soon.”

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas! I wrote this story as part of the wonderful Hearts for the Holidays zine! If you'd like to get a full copy, please follow the link here: https://gumroad.com/heartsfortheholidays. There's 25 days worth of beautiful art and stories! 
> 
> (Make sure you purchase the complete version on the left. The zine was originally released in the style of an Advent Calendar with daily emails. But now that it's Christmas, everything has already been sent out. Proceeds go to Extra Life!)
> 
> I also ended up changing a sentence in the story at the very last minute, so this is SLIGHTLY different from the piece in the zine. But otherwise, it's the exact same story. I hope you enjoyed it!


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